Mid-columbia Parent Partnership, Kennewick WA

Original Research by School Decision on Mid-columbia Parent Partnership

Mid-Columbia Parent Partnership is an alternative school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade within the Kennewick School District in Benton County. It is not a charter school. The school sits in Kennewick, the largest of the Tri-Cities along the Columbia River, an area that has seen steady population growth and economic diversification beyond the historical anchor of the Hanford Site, with major employers including Amazon and Lamb Weston. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are near the state benchmark, and monthly rent is below what a conventional mortgage would run, giving families a mix of options.

The school is a parent-partnership model, which means families take an active role in their children’s education, often with in-home instruction supplemented by on-site classes and support. The student body is modest in size for a K-12 school. White students form the largest share, followed by a substantial Hispanic population, and smaller groups of students who identify as two or more races, Asian, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that is above the national median but below the share in many nearby districts.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year show mixed performance. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency across grades three through eight fell in the range just under half, with fifth graders reaching just above that mark. Math scores were lower across the same grades, with proficiency generally in the range of a fifth to a third of students, and some grades near a quarter or below. Science results for the two tested grades varied widely: fifth-grade science proficiency was notably higher, while eighth-grade science was below half. This performance picture sits above the midpoint among districts in Benton County on an overall proficiency index, but with clear soft spots, particularly in math, where a parent may want to look into this further with the school. The school’s alternative model means that state testing may not capture every student’s academic path in the same way it does at a conventional school.

Only a single year of testing data was reported, so there is no trend to compare against. No graduation rate was available, which often reflects the nature of a school that serves a high share of students who may be on non-traditional timelines or plans. Discipline data, staffing ratios, and course access information were also absent from the data provided.

The district has a bonds and levies program that funds construction and operations through local voter approval, and it uses a Facility Study Committee to guide capital projects based on enrollment growth projections. No recent ballot measure outcomes were detailed in the available sources.

For a family considering this school, the central draw is the parent-partnership approach, which requires a significant time commitment from adults in the home and offers flexibility in how children learn. The academic results are a mixed bag, with English language arts stronger than math overall and science showing a wide grade-level gap. The school fits a family that wants a hands-on role in their child’s schooling and is comfortable navigating an alternative setting where some conventional metrics may be thin or incomplete.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 47% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 45% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 38% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 32% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 31% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 44% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 46% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 44% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 51% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 46% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 34% · ▲ 9 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolKennewick School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income39%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income46%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income52%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income73%Higher-income36%38 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income52%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income57%38 pp gap